Some teams named themselves after native Americans because they epitomize bravery, honor, and were fierce warriors and that's what they wanted their sports team to represent.

I don't doubt there is some or a lot of truth to this statement. I'm sure back in the 1920s people maybe did feel like they were honoring Native Americans by naming their teams after them, but times change. At the same time it was OK to name your high school the Redskins, it was probably OK to call an African-American man on the street a "Negro." Things change, the path of human history is always moving toward being more accepting and more respectful towards other people.

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Originally Posted by Thome25

Does PETA get involved next and say that teams named after animals must go?

The fact that you just compared Native Americans to bears, birds, or rodents really underscores the argument against your case.

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Originally Posted by Thome25

Do the opinions of the few outweigh the opinions of the many?

That is such a god damn cop out. Sometimes, people want certain things done simply because they're right. Do you think the majority of baseball players, fans, or owners wanted Jackie Robinson to break the color barrier in 1947? Do you think he was welcomed with open arms at every opposing city? No, he was hated, by white folks who felt he was destroying the "tradition" of their pure game.

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Originally Posted by Thome25

If done tastefully and respectfully (Blackhawks, Illini, Warriors, Seminoles, Chiefs, Braves etc. etc. etc.) and NOT in a racist way (Chief Wahoo logo and Redskins name) then I don't see the problem and IMO those against it look more like whiners than people standing up for an injustice.

I think it's an awfully slippery slope to start saying Team A, B, and C are honoring Native Americans in a tasteful manner but Team X, Y, and Z are being totally racist. It doesn't seem to hurt that the teams you root for are all "tasteful," either.

Thanks for this thread--I've been teaching about things like Native American assimilation attempts in mission schools in the late 19th century, etc...so I'm havin ga discussion in my American History class on this issue, based around the Paul Lukas article.

I don't doubt there is some or a lot of truth to this statement. I'm sure back in the 1920s people maybe did feel like they were honoring Native Americans by naming their teams after them, but times change. At the same time it was OK to name your high school the Redskins, it was probably OK to call an African-American man on the street a "Negro." Things change, the path of human history is always moving toward being more accepting and more respectful towards other people.

The fact that you just compared Native Americans to bears, birds, or rodents really underscores the argument against your case.

That is such a god damn cop out. Sometimes, people want certain things done simply because they're right. Do you think the majority of baseball players, fans, or owners wanted Jackie Robinson to break the color barrier in 1947? Do you think he was welcomed with open arms at every opposing city? No, he was hated, by white folks who felt he was destroying the "tradition" of their pure game.

I think it's an awfully slippery slope to start saying Team A, B, and C are honoring Native Americans in a tasteful manner but Team X, Y, and Z are being totally racist. It doesn't seem to hurt that the teams you root for are all "tasteful," either.

I'm not going to touch this with a ten foot pole.

I'll end with the fact that I have already stated my opinions on this matter several times in this thread. No point in going around in circles with it.

I'll also say that I respect your opinion on this matter as well as the opinions of my fellow boardmembers in this thread.

I'm sorry that you feel that way. Nevermind pure logic. Nevermind that most Native Americans themselves are more than fine with the use of their imagery.

You think I'm wrong and I think you're wrong so lets just agree to disagree.

That notion is disputed by some Native Americans.

__________________"I have the ultimate respect for White Sox fans. They were as miserable as the Cubs and Red Sox fans ever were but always had the good decency to keep it to themselves. And when they finally won the World Series, they celebrated without annoying every other fan in the country." Jim Caple, ESPN (January 12, 2011)

"We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the (bleeding) obvious is the first duty of intelligent men." — George Orwell

Stunningly according to that section a 2004 poll of 768 Native Americans found that 91% of them found the name "Redskins" acceptable.

They also cite a "near total disconnect" between Native American activists and the general Native American population.

That same article cites to a 2001 poll in which 81% of Native Americans polled found the use of Native American images and names for sports teams to be offensive. Thus, there seems to be continued dispute on this issue.